


The Cruel Sister

by Return_of_the_Procyon



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Adulthood, Adventure, F/M, Legislacerator Terezi, POV Alternating, Threshecutioner Karkat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 13:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5207615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Return_of_the_Procyon/pseuds/Return_of_the_Procyon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Terezi and Vriska have lived for sweeps on Minorie, a wild planet at the edge of the Alternian empire. They've had many bold and dangerous adventures in the past, but they face their biggest challenge yet when a threshecutioner named Karkat Vantas approaches them with a job offer from the empress herself: to survey a valley so dangerous that not even the Scourge Sisters have set foot there before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cruel Sister

Days were dark on Minorie. The sun was overwhelmed entirely by the planet's thick cloud covering, and the scandent bioluminescent plants that grew everywhere in this biome could not replace it. Even so, Vriska didn't like going outside during the daytime. Something deeply rooted in her mind told her it was wrong, and fear would drive her back inside within hours if she were alone. So she paced the house instead, missing her lusus.

Vriska missed her lusus. What a stupid idea. The old spider had brought her nothing but trouble and given her nothing but grief. When she was finally dead, Vriska, drenched with blood and shaking in the cold, had felt a sudden elation wash over her. That memory brought back guilt, which was even more stupid. Vriska wouldn't have had to kill her lusus if the bitch hadn't tried to _eat_ her. And besides, all that had happened long ago, when she'd been a teenager. She should be over it by now. But some days, like today, when Vriska was bored enough to scream and Terezi, caught up in some criminal investigation, scarcely seemed to notice her, Vriska wished her lusus were with her. She'd have no fear of the daytime with a giant spider by her side.

Vriska's pacing took her past Terezi, whose paperwork had taken over the big table in the dining room. She was writing quickly, her nose almost touching the paper. Her husktop was open next to her, bathing her face with a bright blue light in the dark of the house. Vriska hadn't bothered to turn the lights on, and of course Terezi didn't need them. Terezi was finalizing the report of a crime she'd solved and punished days before. Minorie only had a population of 251 trolls, but it had to be the most just planet in the Alternian empire. Terezi was the only law enforcement, and nobody got away with anything under her watch. In fact, Terezi had little time for anything but justice these days. Hadn't they moved to the very edge of Alternian space for adventure, for mystery, for freedom? How could Terezi have forgotten? In the early days, they had been the only trolls on Minorie, and Terezi's status as legislacerator had been incidental. There had been no need for investigations and trials, and Vriska had liked it that way. They'd been an unstoppable duo, exploring the planet together, mapping out uncharted land. They had gained a small amount of fame for climbing the tallest mountain on Minorie without proper equipment. Sometimes they still went exploring; almost all of Minorie was unmapped, the only civilization being the small settlement that Vriska and Terezi had started. But as the population grew, their excursions became rare. Soon all of Terezi's time might be taken up by her legislacerator duties. Maybe it was time for them to move on, to find another unexplored planet and move there…

Vriska was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost missed the knock at the door. She went to open it at once, pausing only to straighten her collar and smooth back her hair a little. The stranger on the other side of the door took her quite by surprise.

The first thing she noticed about him was his threshecutioner's uniform, and the second was the orange tint of his irises. That left no question as to his identity; there was only one lowblooded threshecutioner, and that was Karkat Vantas. He was a little shorter than Vriska. His horns were rounded and very small, almost lost in his thick, wild hair. His face would have been attractive if he weren't scowling. All in all, Vriska decided, he wasn't very impressive for being the only lowblooded threshecutioner.

"I'm Karkat," the threshecutioner said, informally and unnecessarily. "Are you Terezi Pyrope or Vriska Serket?"

"Vriska," Vriska said, crossing her arms and smirking at him in what she knew was an intimidating manner. "Terezi is inside. Would you like to come in?"

He already had one foot through the door when she said that, but he shot her a glare and said, "Yes," before stepping the rest of the way in. Terezi had heard the conversation and was already making a messy pile out of her paperwork. Vriska turned the lights on.

Once he had sat down, he said, "I have a job for you."

"Is that so?" Terezi said. "What is it?"

"There's a valley," he said, and gave its exact coordinates. "The empress wants it surveyed."

Vriska and Terezi raised eyebrows at each other. They knew which valley he was referring to, but they had never entered it themselves. They had talked about it, back in the early days, but it was dangerous, even by their standards, and so they had put the trip off, at least until they better understood what they were up against. Then the settlers had come, and they had slowly stopped talking about it.

"So you want us to survey the valley," Vriska said, unable to stop herself from smiling.

"I'd come with you, of course," Karkat said. Vriska wondered whether the scowl was permanently etched into his face.

"We'll take the job," Vriska said. She could hear the details later. Karkat looked at Terezi, and for a moment Vriska worried, but Terezi grinned at Karkat and said, "Sure. I just finished this case anyway."

"When do we leave?" Vriska said.

"As soon as possible," said Karkat, and Vriska told him that that would be tomorrow.


End file.
